Americans take to social media to help post-Sandy

October 31, 2012

Passengers at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport remain stranded, even as the airport resumes some service after being closed due to Hurricane Sandy.

As Americans reeled from the aftermath of superstorm Sandy Wednesday, they took to tweeting, posting and crowdsourcing to mobilize much-needed aid and help those left without power or food.

The storm has devastated New York City and New Jersey, killing dozens of people in several states and swamping miles of coastline, leaving millions without power and some transport services at a standstill.

On Twitter, netizens used the hashtags #sandyaid and #sandyvolunteer to ask for relief or find out where they could help, and crowdsourced maps sprung up online to locate available wifi spots or places where supplies were available.

"In east Williamsburg, how can I help?" @honeybaked_sam tweeted, getting a prompt reply from Brooklyn-based lifetsyle guide @BrooklynExposed, which posted a link to nearby volunteering opportunities.

Work crews from Verizon pump water from an access tunnel in Lower Manhattan. On Twitter, netizens used the hashtags #sandyaid and #sandyvolunteer to ask for relief or find out where they could help, and crowdsourced maps sprung up online to locate available wifi spots or places where supplies were available.

Jessica Lawrence, managing director of NY Tech Meetup—a non-profit organization that supports the technology community in New York—said she had reached out to her 28,000-plus members through Twitter and Facebook.

Already 140 tech-savvy people were on standby to help stricken schools, businesses and other entities to get back on their feet, to help them with tech-related issues such as data recovery.

But in New York's lower Manhattan—particularly hard-hit by the storm—many of those in need were still lacking power and Lawrence said the challenge was how to connect with them, though some were now making their way to places with electricity and Internet access.

She added that social networks had been particularly useful to connect with other relief organizations, and make sure they worked together rather than overlapping in their efforts.

"I don't think it would have been nearly as easy without social media," she said.

Other organizations used social networks to gather practical information for storm-stricken people and put them on interactive online maps.

The Watershed Post, for instance—an online news source for counties in upstate New York—launched a crowdsourced map locating closed or reopened roads, places to get help or where aid was needed.

(AP)—New York City's bustling technology scene, known as Silicon Alley, was not spared by Hurricane Sandy, which knocked out power lines, devastated the public transit system and left portions of the city flooded.

On the theory that a driver who knows when a red light will turn green is more relaxed and aware, vehicle manufacturer Audi is unveiling this week in Las Vegas a technology that enables vehicles to "read" traffic signals ...

There you are, cruising down the freeway, listening to some tunes and enjoying the view as your autonomous car zips and swerves through traffic. Then the fun ends and it becomes time take over the wheel. How smooth is that ...